Real Housewives of Atlanta

I think that I've already mentioned that I have the inability to finish reading a magazine, so forget about books, newspapers, or anything relevant. So what's a mum to do with her two hours of free time after the girls are in bed? I have one word for you: BRAVO.

I'm addicted to Bravo's vast array of reality shows: Real Housewives (of everywhere), Rachel Zoe Project, and Flipping Out! I'm even guilty of watching NYC Prep, an utterly boring, yet none-the-less addictive, reality version of my fave Gossip Girl. I guess that I can thank Anderson Cooper for initially turning me on to Real Housewives of Atlanta which is where it all began for me. He gave an odd recommendation when he was co-hosting Regis & Kelly last summer. Stunned that the Anderson Cooper couldn't turn away from the show, much like a car crash, I started watching.

NeNe, Sheree, and Kim kill me, and I'm gonna keep watching. Catfights, gossip, sugar daddies named Big Poppa, fights with top level executives, 30-somethings throwing themselves parties equivalent to a Super Sweet 16. I love it! I suggest you tune in too. I can't wait for tonight's show so that I can watch Sheree open up some whoopass on Kim and pull her hair/wig. http://www.bravotv.com/

Inspiration Folder

I have an "inspiration folder." It's a manila folder with design ideas that I've torn from magazines, catalogs, and the like with bathrooms, kitchens, sofas, baskets, doors, lights, swimming pools, you name it, that I might want in my house (or some other future house). Now, I've started an online version too which means that I can share it with you!

Today's inspiration is Thom Filicia's (you know him from Queer Eye for the Straight Guy among other things) Hudson Valley Lake House. The now defunct Domino magazine featured it last summer, and it's exactly what a lake house should be. Dream on......

Gossip Girl

Lately I've been doing a lot of gossiping, and I can't stand myself for it. There's nothing worse than a gossip. It started when my girls were a couple of months old, and it was a terrible winter so I was shut in my house with little adult communication during the day except via telephone, and any information gleaned from a phone call was front-page news to me. Luckily, I realize what I'm doing when I gossip and that's half the battle.

I think I'm particularly cognisant of gossip because it's not something I heard too often as a child. I never heard my own mother utter a word about another person unless it was relevant in some way. In retrospect, I was always able to keep other people's secrets, I considered that part of being a good friend.

I once read something that said people who talk about other people are uninteresting themselves, and interesting people talk about events, topics, interesting things. I'd truly become a bore with nothing to talk about other than other people's news and baby-stuff. I can't make it through an entire novel, newspaper, or news program without being interrupted. I don't go to the movies, theater, or concerts. I barely even go shopping anymore!

Things I am able to do regularly is go out to dinner with my husband and friends, lunches out because my children love to eat at restaurants (for now), go on many walks, find and cook new recipes, and do my best at raising two little girls, which brings to another reason why I don't want to be a gossip.

It seems that children and young adults are becoming mean. This winter there were headlines about teens and/or tweens harassing classmates on Facebook, MySpace, sending mass text messages trying to destroy reputations, and clearly causing a lot of anguish. If memory serves, I think there was at least one case that resulted in group violence against one young girl. I'm concerned that this mean spirit is coming from their mothers. Children learn what they see and hear, and I'll bet there were some pretty gossip-y, unkind, sarcastic, and cruel mothers who never curbed their behavior in front of their children.

So I'm attempting to put an end to unnecessary talk about others so that I can regain some self-respect and set a good example for my daughters. I don't know if I'll be 100% successful, but it's worth a try. I plan on retaining the guilty pleasure of watching the show Gossip Girl because I can't quit gossip cold turkey.

Agri chic design - I love it

I love my house, mostly because we live here and not necessarily because of its groundbreaking design, but I'm kind of obsessed with a style that I saw a few years ago when we stayed in Sonoma, CA. The hotel was agri-chic and I really dug it.
http://www.thecarnerosinn.com/thecarnerosinn/

What will I be when I grow up? Lately people have been asking me what I plan on doing when I'm done being a stay at home mom, which I think is a little odd because don't your children still need you when they're 5 and older? In fact, don't they need you to be around even more when they're pre-teen and teens?

I'm not really insulted by the question, because it's something I've been asking myself lately too. I've done a lot of things in my 34 years on this earth. I've had a lot of little careers. Let's see I've slewn donuts and bagels, worked as a lifeguard, at a tanning salon, hair salon and daycare all before I graduated from high school. I was a manicurist, scheduler, advertising and marketing account exec, advertising sales rep, print sales rep, country club sales rep, and business owner all before I was 30. I was a designer for California Closets, the Cosmetic & Fragrance manager at Saks 5th Avenue and launched Skirt Magazine during my time in North Carolina.

Someone tried to recruit me for a job once because he was so impressed by all the things I'd "done." I guess I'd never really thought of myself as a "do-er" but the truth is that I really do like to try new things. How else would I ever know whether I was missing something great. Some people pick a career in college and stay with that choice until they retire. My mother picked my major (Journalism with a concentration in PR), and that was a fitting choice. I think I would have been a very happy magazine writer, PR exec (although I wasn't thrilled with working in an agency, but they weren't a particularly cool or PR focused agency).

It's a great time to not be in sales, so maybe by the time it's for me to go back to work the economy will have straightened itself out. Maybe I'll open another business (what's that they say about the definition of insanity?). Maybe I'll go and work at J Crew so that I can dress like Michelle Obama and get a discount on their adorable Crew Cuts kids line. http://www.jcrew.com/AST/Navigation/CrewCuts.jsp

Luckily, I think I have a while to think this through. The next job I choose will definitely be the one that sticks.

I should be wearing this dress

Can someone please invite me to a beach wedding or some other event where I can where this dress? It's too cute for my backyard. Or maybe my backyard just needs a reason to host..........
http://www.saksfifthavenue.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524446221816&FOLDER%3C%3Efolder_id=282574492708015&ASSORTMENT%3C%3East_id=1408474399545537&bmUID=1245980559025&ev19=1:16

My Favorite Room

When I realized that I was pregnant with baby girls, I had to change everything on my baby registry from unisex green, yellow, cream, and brown to pink. It's just natural to embrace the girlishness of having girls. Thankfully, I did make those changes since even though my girls were dressed in head to toe pink, being carried in pink car seats, and wiped with pink burp cloths, I would inevitably be told what cute boys they are.

For some reason though I resisted painting their nursery pink. I had planned on painting it something neutral like beige or grey until a friend insisted it be pink. She's the kind of friend who's always right about this type of thing, so I listened. I searched high and low to find the perfect pink: not too pastel, still warm, and pretty of course. With the help of my mom, and about a million swatches, I found Benjamin Moore's Rose Petal, and I couldn't be happier.